General Surgery Salary Map by State (2026)
Median general surgery pay across 23 states from real job listings — switch views to adjust for cost of living or overlay burnout scores. Medians blend permanent salaries with annualized locums/contract rates. National median: $300,000.
Highest median
Ohio
$550,000
Best real purchasing power
Ohio
$592,839 adjusted
Best lifestyle score
Wisconsin
7.3/10 avg burnout score
General Surgery pay by state
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Take-home, COL-adj. | Burnout score | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | $550,000 | $592,839 | $572,089 | 3.8/10 | 5 |
| California | $536,000 | $484,104 | $439,082 | 3.7/10 | 36 |
| Washington | $535,000 | $499,939 | $499,939 | 3.8/10 | 12 |
| Minnesota | $518,778 | $526,032 | $474,218 | 5.3/10 | 30 |
| Illinois | $485,000 | $485,204 | $461,186 | 5.4/10 | 25 |
| Colorado | $417,500 | $405,135 | $387,309 | 5.0/10 | 20 |
| Massachusetts | $412,500 | $390,045 | $370,543 | 4.3/10 | 12 |
| Oregon | $410,000 | $396,668 | $357,398 | 4.8/10 | 8 |
| North Carolina | $385,000 | $408,159 | $390,812 | 4.8/10 | 7 |
| New Jersey | $375,000 | $344,653 | $322,699 | 3.9/10 | 19 |
| Florida | $350,000 | $338,445 | $338,445 | 6.0/10 | 20 |
| Virginia | $350,000 | $346,178 | $326,273 | 4.4/10 | 19 |
| New York | $300,000 | $277,981 | $258,939 | 5.5/10 | 72 |
| Iowa | $300,000 | $341,834 | $328,844 | 6.3/10 | 8 |
| Pennsylvania | $300,000 | $307,465 | $298,026 | 5.9/10 | 12 |
| Connecticut | $300,000 | $289,547 | $269,308 | 6.1/10 | 6 |
| Rhode Island | $300,000 | $293,312 | $275,743 | 7.2/10 | 7 |
| Wisconsin | $275,000 | $292,258 | $276,768 | 7.3/10 | 12 |
| Texas | $275,000 | $283,339 | $283,339 | 6.4/10 | 33 |
| Tennessee | $275,000 | $299,336 | $299,336 | 5.6/10 | 8 |
| Alabama | $275,000 | $309,604 | $294,124 | 7.3/10 | 6 |
| Georgia | $275,000 | $285,587 | $270,194 | 7.3/10 | 10 |
| Maryland | $218,800 | $208,462 | $196,476 | 3.1/10 | 6 |
Which state pays general surgery physicians the most?
Ohio currently has the highest median general surgery salary at $550,000, based on 5 real job listings.
Which state offers the best after-tax general surgery pay?
Ohio currently leads the take-home view at $572,089 — the state median after its state income tax (Tax Foundation state income tax rates (2025)), divided by the local cost-of-living index. No-income-tax states like Texas, Florida and Tennessee often outrank nominally higher-paying states here.
Why adjust general surgery salaries for cost of living?
Prices differ across states. The adjusted view divides each state's pay benchmark by its regional price index (U.S. average = 100). Source: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). This is a state-level comparison, not a personal budget or a city-level cost estimate. Missing price data is shown as unavailable.
Which state has the best general surgery lifestyle scores?
Wisconsin currently has the highest average WeekdayDoc burnout score (7.3/10, higher is better) for general surgery listings — a measure of call burden, weekend requirements, and schedule flexibility across postings.
Medians computed from real WeekdayDoc job listings after outlier removal; states with fewer than 5 qualifying listings are excluded. Cost-of-living adjustment uses BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). The take-home view additionally deducts state income tax at each state's marginal rate for ~$300k single-filer income (Tax Foundation state income tax rates (2025)); federal tax is omitted since it's uniform across states, and local/property taxes are not modeled. Burnout scores are WeekdayDoc's proprietary 0–10 lifestyle rating (higher is better).
More salary maps
See the full percentile breakdown on the General Surgery salary page.